12. The government steps in against Rockefeller for the first time
By 1871 the oil refiners in the United States were producing about 40,000 barrels per day, at a time when demand for oil products was roughly 16,000 barrels per day. Rockefeller was determined that all of those 16,000 barrels were to be from Standard Oil, and by controlling shipping he could force the smaller refiners to close, or at the very least reduce production to what could be sold locally. Shipping overseas was not a practical option, oil had to be shipped in barrels, tankers not yet being a style of ship within the skills of the shipbuilders. While the South Improvement Company existed Rockefeller bought out 18 oil refineries in a span of a month. In April, 1872, Pennsylvania suspended the charter of the South Improvement Company, but the almost year-long state of near combat among railroads and oil refiners had led Rockefeller to be viewed in the public eye as the first robber baron. He would not be the last.